The House of Baric Part One

It is the end of an unending war in 1647. The young nobleman Mauro Baric, an officer in his uncle's regiment of the Venetian Empire's Army, is excused from his post to return home after the sudden death of his father, Lord Lorenc Baric. Mauro is the last of his family bloodline and unhappily takes the title as the new baron of the House of Baric in the Venetian colony of Croatia. His first duty to his family in this new role of his is to marry.Resi Kokkinos is the young woman Mauro is contracted to wed. The only daughter of a Thessalonian sea trader, she is not happy about the arrangement to marry the young baron, whom she only met once when she was twelve and he was sixteen. The unusual match is to repay her father's debt to Lord Lorenc Baric. While kept from possible suitors who could ruin her for her future husband, she did not waste her sequestered years of waiting. Resi sat in on her brothers' tutoring lessons and read every book she could get her hands on to fill her idle time. Armed with the new language of her husband's homeland and romantic notions of the marriage to come, Resi is finally summoned to Croatia to begin her new life, along with her companion and best friend, Ruby Spiros.The first book of the trilogy takes flight after the young couple's first anniversary. Mauro spent much of their first year dutifully fighting to protect the ever-shifting borders for the Empire, leaving his wife to come to terms with married life without him. Mishaps and adventures are a part of living, and Resi and her husband will have their share. Disappointed in each other at first, they questioned just who they had been matched with. But through time and togetherness, they cannot deny that the arrangement is more than tolerable.The Barics are not the only endearing characters that fill the pages of this book. Book one introduces you to their motley crew of friends and fellow soldiers who play a big role in their lives. The castle is run by a colorful cast of obedient servants who have their own worries and problems to work out. Guests from Venice arrive unexpectedly and liven up Resi's and Ruby's quiet world, as well.Four centuries ago the essentials of living were love, hate, marriage, sex, religion, and death (not necessarily in that order). Your station in life, your birth order, your family connections and loyalties all ruled the choices you made. Was happiness in that mix? In The House of Baric Part One: Shields Down, the cast of characters make pivotal choices during one eventful summer in 1649 in search of that elusive happiness.

"The series pulls the reader immediately into the complex and colorful world of Venice at the zenith of its power ... This is a delightful series." - Historical Novel Society Book ReviewMarriage matches were not preordained by God in Heaven for the Venetian nobility, but skillfully negotiated by fathers looking to enhance their prestige and wealth.Mauritius Baric would have been such a desirable match. As heir to a Venetian barony, Mauro had connections to powerful political allies that would please a future father-in-law. For the potential bride, he was thankfully handsome and young. Mauro did have some quirks, perhaps due to his mother's neglect, his lingering guilt over his brother's accident, or his father ruining Mauro's wish to die a hero's death on a battlefield. But a Venetian lady wouldn't get a chance to learn these worrisome details since Mauro was already spoken for.Mauro's father had ruined many aspects of his life, including his choice in a bride. Terese Kokkinos-Resi, as her family called her-was the daughter of an Ottoman sea trader, not a Venetian lady, and definitely not someone interested in marrying an aristocrat far from her beloved home. Betrothed as children to repay her father's debt to the Barics, their paired future together was the keystone to Lord Baric's continued success. With no urgency, Mauro lived his adventurous life as he pleased and thought little of his betrothed, waiting in Thessaloniki while he soldiered in his uncle's army. Resi made the best of her sequestered adolescence at home, secretly hoping the arrangement had somehow been forgotten. But when tragedy struck the House of Baric, the summons arrived at her doorstep.In 1649, a year had passed since Mauro's and Resi's marriage, and still the newlyweds barely knew each other. Her strong will and his stoic nature had made for an awkward courtship at first. Slowly, though, like frost melting in the winter sunshine, Mauro warmed to this complicated woman that he had set aside for too long.Love will bloom in the Croatian heat, and not just between the Barics. Old friends and unexpected visitors will bring romantic opportunities to the soldiers and servants of Baric Castle. Trouble will arrive, too.With humor and drama, you are a fly on the wall in this intriguing and adventurous trilogy. Love, war, hating, and mating were not so different back then. These memorable characters want to steer their destinies in search of a happily ever after, and you will find yourself rooting for them to succeed in their quest.